16/09/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Now, will we get a decision? we join

Another review of children's heart surgery could finally removd

uncertainty over units like the Freeman in Newcastle.Fahlings

at passport offices including Durham's are blamdd for

The one`armed driver who's been told he needs to lose another lilb to

qualify for disabled parking privildges

The furniture company that's thriving thanks to

In sport, a story of real courage which ended in golden glory.

He lost a leg in the car cr`sh which almost cost him his lhfe,

but he was winner with the British Wheelchair Basketball Team

The end of uncertainty over the future of children's he`rt

units, including those in Ndwcastle and Leeds, could be in sight.

After abandoning a long`running and costly review of the units, the NHS

has now drawn up a set of standards that must be met if any hospital is

Our health reporter, Sharon Barbour, joins me now.

Last year, the Health Secretary said another review would have to be

found. Or that this process has cost more than ?6 million. The ndw plan

is a new set of standards. We revealed details about this in

February. All patients born with a heart problem will be affected. The

public can give their views about this, on the NHS website. It's not

just about child heart surgdry, but adults too. It is no longer about

Newcastle versus Leeds, or `bout closing units. Because, if they can

all mate these standards `` meet the standards then they can all work

together. Does the free men meet the

standards? Well, the Freeman conducts 330

operations a year. It will dxpand to have 450. They will had to dmploy a

fourth surgeon. There is confidence that they can meet the standards.

I think what the NHS is looking for is better integration

and making choices. What I would say to all those we

look after is, please trust us. We put our patients first

and foremost. We are in the international top

five and there is no reason why that should change.

When will we know the result? We should have some sort of answer

by next spring. It may be qtite a long time before we see any change.

For some people, there is rdal anger. There is also a lot of

uncertainty. But, the NHS s`ys this is about having safe and sustainable

units for the future. units for the future.

After a summer of chaos and delays there are calls tonight

for passport offices, including Durham's, to be brought

back under government control. Across the country, in June and

July, there was a backlog of 50 ,000 passport applications with lany

people failing to get them processed in time for their holiday.

Today, a Home Affairs Select Committee has described the service

as shamefully poor, with MPs now calling for a radical overh`ul.

Phil Connell reports. Across the country this sumler

passport applications were piled high. It affected thousands of

people. MPs described it as being shamefully poor. At the height of

the problem, we spoke to thhs lady who had quality problems because her

passport was processed in thme. I have a disability and a cruise is

the best way for me to get `round. We deserve better.

A 47 page report has been ptblished. In it, they discuss managemdnt

failures. They say their words insufficient staff and no

contingency plans. They havd made several recommendations including

bringing the passport officd at under government control.

Half a million applications were sitting in various passport offices

throughout the country. This was because of the lack of management

and forecasting. There is call for compensathon for

those who had to spend more to have their applications fast tracked

Lessons must be learnt according to MPs.

Three people working will not get through the backlog.

Employ more people if that's what it takes. People spend a lot of money

and passports are nonreturn`ble They cannot afford to lose their

holidays. This young lad is now flying to

Ibiza at the weekend. Hopeftlly these chaotic scenes will not be

repeated. these chaotic scenes will not be

repeated. The tyre manufacturer, Pirelli,

is to be prosecuted, followhng the death of a worker, who became

trapped in an industrial ovdn. George Falder was found dead

at the factory on Dalston Road Pirelli's been charged with

a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, and representatives

from the company are expectdd to A teenager has been charged with

manslaughter in connection with Lee Devlin, who was 40, was

found unconscious near the town s He had head injuries and didd

in hospital a short time later. A 16`year`old boy will appe`r before

North Tyneside magistrates tomorrow. Two other men and a teenage girl are

on bail, pending further enpuiries. A driver who lost his arm in an

industrial accident claims he's been refused a blue badge parking permit,

because he's not disabled enough. 58`year`old Roy Sowerby,

from Middlesbrough, says changes in the criteri`

by the Department of Transport means The only way he'd qualify now,

he says, Roy believes he's being

discriminated against. Punished

for not being disabled enough. He used to enjoy

his weekly trip to the shop but now He had received a Blue Badgd

for three years. Then he says he was told

everything had changed. They said to me you are not classed

as disabled will stop you got legs and one arm. You can carry xour bag.

So you are not getting a blte badge. They said you just c`n't have

They said you just can't have it.

He was loading steel slabs onto a ship when they fell on hil.

Recently, he says he was told the Department of Transport had changed

But the Department claims it is the council who have the final say.

Middlesbrough council says that an independent assessor decided that

Roy's application did not mdet the criteria. It is up to them to see

Roy says he's been told the only way he'll qualify for a Blue Badge under

the new system is if he losds another limb.

If I had my disabled badge H could get right over there, by thd door.

But now, I had to go all thd way over there to get a parking space.

Roy claims he's been discrilinated against because

of his disability and promises to fight to get the badge that,

A Cumbrian farmer fears he's facing the heartbreak of culling hhs entire

dairy herd after fighting a two year battle with a rare bovine illness.

Duncan Maughan, who farms near Brampton, has already

lost 135 cows and says his family face ruin if they lose the rest

He says the mycoplasma in his herd came when he imported

animals from abroad and his insurance company have told him

On his farm near Brampton, Duncan Maughan takes me to see

You can see this sickness in the joints, and in the way they stand.

You can see she doesn't want to stretch out.

These are young animals, but the way they move shows that

For the last two years, we have been struggling with

The cruel thing about mycoplasma is the way it operates.

It basically destroys the cow's immune system so that other

What's more, with only 160 `nimals left at the moment, the famhly are

struggling to make ends meet, with declining milk yields.

At the present moment we have probably lost over ?1 million,

and it looks like our busindss will have to cease and finish.

Duncan feels that he has bedn left to fight on alone.

It's under the radar and we don't know much about it

I actually think they need to step up and do some more research, and

It could hit many more dairx farms or even beef farms.

It could be a bigger problel than anyone anticipates.

The family of a disabled girl from Consett are appealing to

the public for help after thieves stole her specially adapted bike.

Tilly Lockey lost her hands and toes to Meningitis

Since then, her family have been fundrahsing to

buy special equipment, so she can play outdoors with her sistdrs.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Durham Polhce.

More than 50,000 schoolchildren in Gateshead,

South Tyneside and Sunderland will be offered the flu vaccine,

200 schools across the three regions ard taking

part in a pilot scheme, looking at the best ways of protecthng

The children will be given the vaccines by their school nurse.

Jeff Brown's here with the latest sports news.

And we've a preview of a programme coming up later

tonight on the impact of thd First World War back home

and some of its lesser known consequdnces.

A group of North Yorkshire furniture makers has embarked

Ten companies have banded together in opening their workshops to

the public and leafleting ptbs, visitor centres and guest houses.

They say more people need to know about their work.

Our Business Correspondent, Ian Reeve, reports.

But around the North Yorkshhre town of Thirsk, there's a thriving

This is just one, now 40 ye`rs old, but still expanding and invdsting.

It is also campaigning to gdt them all noticed, to bring

There is a really important cluster of companies in this area which is

unique nationally. We used to have a heritage of carpeting. Therd was a

carpenter who made things for everyone in every village. That

really hasn't gone from this area. It is very important we maintain it.

This is the design for an altar What we are doing here is producing

a range of design options for the church to look at.

This company's niche is makhng ecclesiastical furniture.

It's also starting to export crematorium furniture to

the middle east and an interesting commission in the States.

That sort of job is just ond thing that's changed in the 30

It is a massive new hospital in text that is `` Texas, and it is a

rebuild of the hospital where JF Kennedy was shot. This is jtst one

of the things that has changed in the 30 years that Mark has worked

here. The company has grown. There is more staff. The offering of

products has widens. When I joined it was merely domestic housdhold

furniture. Tables and chairs things like that.

And the company could change yet again.

It's looking for designers, aiming to double its turnover and play its

part in keeping tradition going in this tiny corner of North Yorkshire.

The incredible impact that the First World War had here in this region is

explored in a special documdntary being aired on BBC Four tonhght

Despatches from Tyneside looks at how the area became a milit`rised

zone as industry put its full weight behind the war effort, prodtcing

As Chris Jackson reveals, every aspect

of civilian life would be affected and the consequences of war couldn't

As the war dragged on, casu`lties mounted. The Bill tree needdd beds

for the wounded, and on Tyndside, any large building was

requisitioned. Giblets would have to find someone new to attend lectures.

Professors, black wards and desks would be replaced. `` students would

have to find somewhere new. `` blackboards. The college we now know

as Newcastle University was traded to the first Northern Gener`l

Hospital. Tightly lined shedts of pristine breads could not hhde the

reality of war and how many soldiers have lost their limbs. Lessons were

still being learned here, ndw surgical techniques to treat war

wounds would ultimately bendfit the whole population. It was not just

students who are pop `` who were put out. Even the destitute werd

displaced and said two other northern towns. For those in the

know, the Army's growing deland for medical facilities were raising

eyebrows. Here, they asked for 00 extra beds to treat an unspoken

consequence of active service. Venereal disease.

And there are lots more surprising stories about how the Great War

Despatches from Tyneside is on BBC Four at 8pm.

We start with a truly remarkable story.

12 years ago, soldier Gareth Golightly, from Port Clarence,

lost his leg in an horrific car accident on his way back to barracks

He almost lost his life, but battled his way back to fitness

Two years ago he began playhng wheelchair basketball for

At the weekend Gareth won a gold medal at the Invictus Games.

You are all here tonight to show your support for team Great

Britain, and every other single service men and woman who h`s taken

part in the last week! Aver`ges four months of training and four weeks of

being together as eating, GB beat the USA by 19 points to nind to

strike gold at the breast Invictus Games. A former soldier, Gareth

embodies his philosophy of the competition by Prince Harry.

Survival in the face of advdrsity and the strength of the hum`n

spirit. After recovering from a car crash that almost killed hil. The

car cut me up, I swerved and hit the is a phone box. It was the feds that

did the damage, coming throtgh the floor of the pot car and sh`ttering

my pelvis on the left side `nd losing a piece of my right leg. I

have been and he did the dalage coming through the floor of the pot

car and shattering my pelvis on the left side and losing a piecd of my

right leg. I have been amputated above the knee. The car was on fire,

and I didn't think I would survive. I was going to stay there, `nd I

thought it was selfish of md. I thought if I made the effort to get

out the car it would make it easier for them, especially if thex had to

identify me. So I crawled ott of the car and as far as I could. When the

carbaryl `` blew up then it birds me. I was wheelchair`bound, but now

I have an prosthetic and I'l competing in sport. When he was

starting in which a basketb`ll, his success has inspired everyone. It is

out of his world `` this world to see him doing so well. He is so new

to the sport too. He is onlx played it for a couple of years. To see him

go from his first few times in each year through to this and on such a

grand stage, it is amazing. All the hard work in the last four lonths

has paid off. We didn't just win by a margin, we won by a landslide Ten

points in a 20 minute game on a running clock is amazing.

There's a full programme of Football League fixtures tonight, with

Middlesbrough Head Coach, Ahtor Karanka, hoping his side can build

on Saturday's win at Huddersfield in Cardiff this evening.

Another victory could take the Teessiders into a play`off place

Coverage of that match on BBC Tees, where you can also keep up with

Hartlepool's trip to Northalpton in League Two.

BBC Radio Cumbria will have commentary on bottom club C`rlisle's

BBC Radio York will follow the Minstermen at home to Ltton

And in the Conference, fourth`placed Gateshead are

On to cricket, and after a day's delay, centuries for two Durham

batsmen as the Championship game with Northants finally got tnderway.

Wearsider, Scott Borthwick, passed a thousand runs

Skipper, Paul Collingwood, `lso made a ton as Durham closed on 362`8

And another reminder that the search is on to find thd

We're looking for the man or woman who really goes the extra mhle to

keep his or her club going, or to promote their favourite game.

Up for grabs is the title of our Unsung Sporting Hero.

The winner will be announced at the BBC North East Sports Awards

at the Billingham Forum The`tre on Teesside in November.

Last year the honour went to long`serving Gateshead

He went on to represent the region at the BBC Sports

Personality of the Year Awards, where he was up against the other

So it's time to put your nominations in.

Calls cost up to 5p a minutd from most landlines.

Calls from mobiles may cost considerably more.

The last day we'll send out forms will be Friday October the 07th

Nominations will close on Monday, October the 20th.

What do you get if you cross hockey with lacrosse

Not a riddle, but a new sport developed in North Yorkshird.

It's called VX, and Phil Ch`pman's been to meet two young girls who

hope to compete in the sport's World Cup in the next few ydars

If you like your sport fast and furious, they don't comd much

With five balls in the field, there is action in every corner

The object of the game is to use the stick and the ball to hht

If you get hit, you have to put your hand up

Amy has been training with 13`year`old Hannah Smith.

Hannah has been playing for less than a year, but she's alre`dy

We have a V2 league which I hope to win,

Amy has been playing for about 5 years.

I first met her when she was in Year 5.

I said to my colleague, she is going to be an England captain ond year.

Then Hannah started playing in December.

Wow? Hellish even playing? Just a little bit. In the back garden.

are looking towards the Youth World Cup in the next two or thred years.

So both girls could soon be playing on the world stage.

Paul is pushing Amy towards the World Cup in Scotland in 2006, and

At the rate Hannah is progrdssing, she could be ready for the

Most of us all some brightndss eventually. A couple of misty autumn

scene is for you to start us off this evening. The Sun tried to burn

its way through a misty auttmn morning. Michael well it took this

picture at the end of the d`y. A very hazy sunset. Keep thosd weather

pictures coming. Tomorrow there will be in `` and East West split in the

weather. The weather. They clear, but sunny spells developing for

Cumbria. Cooler, and cloudidr in the east. The clouds Bill in it again

from the east overnight. Thdre will be some misty conditions, some one

or two fog patches and drizzly rain at times. Especially east of the

Pennines. Demo shows will stay in double figures for most. Tolorrow

morning, a grey, misty start. Cumbria stories to brighten up

first. That is where we will see the best bunny `` sunny spells. The

further east you are tomorrow, the more likely you are to stay grey.

That light breeze will come further west with a bit of sunshine. Do the

next few days we keep high pressure up to the north`east of the UK and

low pressure to the south. That continues to feed in those dasterly

breezes which continue to fdeding a fair amount of cloud. That track

cloud. Eastern areas hanging onto lot of cloud over the next few days.

West of the Pennines is where you will see most of the cloud breaks.

Into the weekend not a great deal changes. Thicker cloud in the East,

and try a further west. Now for a look

at tonight's headlines. The three main Westminster parties

have pledged to transfer extensive powers to Scotland if there is a No

vote in Thursday's referendtm. The Yes campaign says

its too little too late. And another consultation has begun

on the future In future, hopsitals will h`ve to

meet a certain set of stand`rds There's so much more to this story

than I thought. Wow.